Traditional phone handling techniques to handle an incoming call are limited in capability. Presently, a callee typically screens a call through receipt of the caller's identification. A callee then has little flexibility when handling the call, especially when the callee is already connected to another caller. To illustrate, consider that a callee is connected to a first caller when a second caller rings through. Traditionally, the callee interrupts the connected call with the first caller (e.g., using “call waiting” technology) to communicate with the second caller. Or, the callee can allow the caller to pass to voice mail, which is accessed by the callee after the second caller records a message.
While traditional techniques for call screening electronic messages and calls are functional, there are certain drawbacks to these techniques. Call waiting technology is disruptive to communication. Further, typical voicemail screening techniques add a time delay to determine the subject matter of voice message, as a callee usually accesses the content of the voicemail after the caller has completed recording a message (i.e., one-way communication). The callee then dials or otherwise rings the caller to complete communication between the two parties. In some cases, conventional approaches usually provide relatively rigid rules that enable a callee to enact predetermined call handling options.
It would be desirable to provide computing devices and systems, as well as software, computer programs, applications, and user interfaces that minimize one or more of the drawbacks associated with the conventional techniques for screening calls via packetized and/or synchronous communication networks.
Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. Note that most of the reference numerals include one or two left-most digits that generally identify the figure that first introduces that reference number.